A Goddess Among Men
by AbbeysMum
Summary: AU The Dark Lord won - killing off Ron Harry and Hermione. Lucius and Severus devise a plan to bring back the Goddess of magic in order to kill off the one that rules their world.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Secret Room

They'd known that it was a long shot to get them all. It wasn't a matter destroying them, though that was something to worry about later down the road. Getting to them was the one problem they couldn't overcome. Every horcrux was harder to find than the one before it, and the last one was damn near impossible to get to. Nagini was the one they couldn't get to, and in the end they'd given up.

One by one, Harry, Ron and Hermione were killed while out on the run. Ron was the one to go first, a stray killing curse sent their way while trying to retrieve the cup in Gringotts. After that, Hermione and Harry were running from Greyback and his pack close to Hogwarts.

Hermione was killed next – she'd become a meal to one of the werewolves, and Harry watched horrified as his last comrade was eaten in front of him. With no fight left he was taken to Voldemort, and he was the next to go, bathed in a green haze.

Everything changed from that point on, and nearly everyone wasn't happy two long years later. The Dark Lord ruled still, with a Ministry that was unable to do anything without his say so. Anyone in a position of power was appointed by The Dark Lord himself, or under the imperious curse, and answered to someone who was close to him.

Over the last two years, nearly all werewolves were killed, along with most of the goblins, centaurs, and giants. There were small groups hiding, most of them outside of Briton, the others rarely in groups larger than three, for fear that they'd be discovered.

Gringotts had been taken over by wizards and any vault that belonged to any blood traitor was turned over to those that weren't.

It is in this society that we find one Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy walking down the middle of Diagon Alley on a partly sunny day in August, right before term was to start at Hogwarts. Both men held their heads high, as if they owned the world, but each knew they were naught but strings waiting to be pulled when the puppet master gave the order.

There was a time when the street would have been bustling with people rushing from one store to another, or trying to keep all their children in one group while still managing to keep an eye on the list of things needed for the upcoming term.

Instead, there are single file lines moving down the street one person shopping for the whole family, packages were sent either by owl or other magical means to keep the streets from being too clogged up. If one were to look closely at the occupants of the street, you'd see that while they looked as if they were at ease, but their eyes would dart back and forth quickly, shoulders were held tightly, and no one would smile.

On rare occasions, one could see something moving out of the corner of one's eye, but just as quickly the movement would stop, if you were to look closely.

On the whole it may have had the appearance of a well oiled society. Crime rate were low, the public well behaved, and students grades were high at Hogwarts

Years ago, before The Dark Lord had taken over, Severus had found an interesting Muggle book laying around the hovel of a house his father had left him, that reminded him of the society he found himself a part of now.

As fascinating as he'd found the book all those years ago, he wasn't thrilled that he found himself in the same society that he once thought could never happen. Big Brother was here, and there was nothing anyone could do to usurp him now that his claws were firmly set in the wizarding world's flesh. Ever so slowly, it would die out if they weren't careful.

Severus looked at his companion with eyes that were dulled by distress at the situation at hand. Lucius returned the same look to his friend but straitened his shoulders and relaxed.

"Come my friend," Lucius started. "I've just received a nice case of wine that I'd like for you to try."

"Of course," Severus said and they both apparated on the spot.

Both men materialized seeming out of nowhere not far from the gate of Malfoy Manor, and the lighter haired wizard moved first toward the gate and walked through it, the darker one following closely behind him.

The Manor had been for the most part deserted for nearly a year now. Its former Mistress had passed away once her son was found killed by The Dark Lord. There were rumors that her heart was broken, but both Lucius and Severus knew she'd taken her own life by poisoning herself. After all, she'd commented to Lucius right before swallowing the foul concoction, what was life without her son?

Neither one of them could blame her, but Lucius was resentful of his late wife. She wasn't here to witness the life that they now had to live, and it would have been nice to share the burden with someone.

Lucius regarded his friend with unreadable eyes for a few moments, and then motioned for Severus to follow. Severus followed with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. He knew there were parts of the Manor that he'd never been in, as it was such a large building, and he'd bet his last cauldron that there were parts even The Dark Lord didn't know exist.

Lucius turned several corners, pulled open invisible doors and led him toward the middle of the house. There was a door where the blond wizard hesitated for a moment, then opened with a series of spells. It was a smaller room with a large stone fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a bed, and full amenities that a small flat would have.

Severus asked flicking his wand to the hearth, but nothing happened. He flicked again, two more times and looked over at Lucius with bewildered eyes. "Where the devil are we?"

With a wave of his wand Lucius conjured two glasses of wine and lit the fire.

"Just after Narcissa and Draco died I made this room. This part of the Manor had always been unused, and I needed to somewhere to go where The Dark Lord couldn't overhear me. It's unplottable, and anyone else's magic won't work here unless I change it, there's also a feature attached to the room that makes time move slower here than it does outside."

With a grunt, Severus sat down in one of the chairs staring at Lucius.

"I made it, partly because I needed something to do with the extra time that I'd had on my hands and," he stopped and drank is wine, "because I didn't trust The Dark Lord anymore."

Severus hissed in response and looked around wildly.

"Don't worry old friend," he laughed. "He won't be able to hear us. I made sure of that when this was done. I even invoked the Taboo, and nothing happened."

"You're either very brave," Severus breathed with wild eyes. "Or very foolish."

"Perhaps it's a bit of both my friend."

Both men sat there in silence for a while each enjoying the wine and avoiding the main reason for even being in the room to begin with.

"Is there any particular reason that you've brought me to a room that could get us both killed Lucius? Unless you're suicidal?"

"No," his said softly looking over his wine glass. "I'm not suicidal. I'm ready for a change. I hate what the world has become. I know you played both sides at one time, and there were times that I often second guessed The Dark Lord's judgment when it came to you."

"You realize that you're speaking of treason against our Lord." Severus watched him closely.

"Of course I am."

"You've no problem with the ramifications of such treason then?"

"The ramifications?" Lucius questioned. "The ramifications of this whole situation are that my family is dead! What greater consequences are there? Death would be a gift not a punishment!" He bellowed.

"I'm game if you are then," Severus said swallowing his wine in one go. "You do realize that we'll both die anyway when we're found out. He's too much power."

Lucius sighed softly. "I don't think it matters anymore. You've seen what we've had to put up with. At first, I thought I'd welcome what The Dark Lord envisioned. Now, I see that he really doesn't care about blood purity. It really is just a ploy to run the world. He'll ruin it soon if something isn't done." Lucius said.

"He's mostly ruined it now," ever the sarcastic reply.

"Yes, magic isn't the same anymore is it? We've got walls that have ears – literally now. People eager to climb the social ladder snitching on those that were the most loyal to him over the years, and watching the aftermath of his ire. How many more people must I watch die Severus?"

It was a testament to what they'd both been through in the past two years. Watching Harry Potter die – and with it the only way he could see to redemption. They were both helpless, both knowing that this is where the last hope for the wizarding world lies. He laid there dead at their feet with a simple curse, eyes glassy and wide open.

"There is always the easy way out Lucius. I'm sure I can brew something up that will make it painless."

"No doubt you could, but to what end would that lead us?"

"You'd no longer have to see what the world would become." Severus told him.

Lucius held his empty glass of wine in front of him and watched in fascination as it refilled on its own. "You're right I could, but as you said it would be the easy way out. It doesn't leave the world any better off than I left it, does it. The way I see it, we've got very few chances left to go back to what we once had."

Severus nodded. "I don't know what can be done. The chosen one went and got himself killed. With it, the last chance we had to overthrow him died with Neville Longbottom."

Lucius sat there with a queer smile on his face. "Do you remember not long after Draco and Cissy's death, The Despot started going through libraries across the country and destroying some older books dating back a thousand years or so?"

Severus nodded. "I lost a fair few books in that purge,"

"I know," Lucius told him.

Severus looked at Lucius his black eyes glittering. "Yet, I don't seem to remember you losing all that many books when he went through your library personally."

Lucius smiled again. "Of course not. What he did destroy, were worthless copies. I still have them here in this room waiting for us to go through. I know the answer is in there somewhere. Since I've built this room I've spent hours going through what I can. There are a few promising books that I'd found on some dark magical artifacts that I think you'd be interested to read, but there was one that I think you should read. If you're so inclined to do so."

"What do you think you found?" Severus asked him.

"An answer I think."

An old book that hadn't been sitting on the side table next Severus' chair appeared, sitting there as if it had been sitting there the entire time. There was no title to the book but the binding was old, and if he weren't mistaken reinforced by magic to hold it together.

Carefully, Severus picked up the book and opened the front where one word appeared on the front sheet of parchment with a small picture of a woman right underneath. It was written in Greek as far as he could tell, but languages weren't his forte.

"I can't read Greek Lucius." He said quietly.

A quick flick of his wand and the text morphed into English.

"Hecate?" Severus questioned. "What does the goddess Hecate have anything to do with bringing down The Dark Lord?"

"Everything old friend," Lucius breathed. "She's the goddess of magic, and in that book it says that if there ever comes a time of great need, all you have to do is call upon her. Magic must be in peril, of course, but I don't see magic lasting much longer under The Dark Lord, do you?"

"And what is required of us to call upon this goddess?"

"A sacrifice," he said with a shrug.

Severus raised an eyebrow at this. "Don't you think that we've sacrificed enough?"

"Of course we have, but what's one more? We either die, or give something up."

"What exactly would the cost be Lucius?"

"The book doesn't say, I can tell you it won't be your magic if that's what you're wondering." He answered with a long sigh.

"Well that's something at least." Severus grumbled to himself. "How much of the book have you read?"

"All of it," Lucius told him standing up. "I have an appointment with The Dark Lord later today. You're more than welcome to stay here and read the book."

"And be without magic the entire time? I think not." Severus stood and followed his friend to the door. "I take it the book must stay here?"

"Yes, it must. I don't want it to get back to him that I even have it."

Severus nodded to himself. "When you get back, I'd like to ask you more about your plans."

"I expected nothing less."

Both departed without a word to the other, lost in their own thoughts. Severus moved on to The Leaky Cauldron for a drink of something stronger than a glass of thirty year old wine. He'd taken the steaming concoction to the back where he could watch the room around him. He couldn't stop himself from thinking back to a time when it would be busy, people chatting about their days or the latest publication in Potions Monthly, or what the newest broom model would be.

Now, while there were patrons among those in the pub, heads were down eyes set to the bottom of the glass that they were drinking from. It was a stark contrast of years long gone he thought to himself. A long suffering sigh was just about the only thing that he could do, but if there was any way to make things better, as Lucius himself had hinted, would he do it.

Was there still a chance of redemption for him after all? Yes, Harry Potter was gone, as were many others. Some of those people were even dead by his own hand. Admittedly, those that had died at his hand, he wasn't too sorry to see go. Bella was one of them and a satisfied smile crossed his countenance. Even if he were to die – he'd at least be doing something useful. It was a damn sight better than he'd been doing lately.

Yes, if there was a way to get rid of him, he'd do it. He'd sacrifice just about anything to see him dead. He'd give his life to see it over, and if that wasn't a good enough thing to give up, he didn't know what would work.

Since The Dark Lord had taken over, he'd become a recluse. Paranoid of those around him and rarely stayed in one place for very long. There were very few he trusted enough to actually see for the most part, any order would be delivered by owl or house elf.

Severus was thankfully one of the two people who still saw him on a semi-regular basis. Lucius was not, and for a time after Draco and Narcissa's death, Severus put even money that the elder Malfoy would have been next.

Lucius however was a Slytherin through and through. He'd played off their deaths as payment to The Dark Lord for his failure. His eyes gave him away, and it surprised Severus that their Lord had missed it entirely. It was hatred, pure unadulterated hatred shining through Lucius' eyes that day.

Of course, hatred is what got them in the situation they were in now, he only hoped it wasn't the wrong kind of hatred that would get them in deeper trouble than they already had to put up with. Otherwise, it would be revenge for all the wrong reasons.

Revenge for the sake of revenge… it needed to be changed to righting all the wrongs done in the name of magic.

"Severus," Lucius' voice caught him mid thought.

"Lucius," he returned. "I'd like to take you up on the offer for dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Nothing to lose.

Dinner was the one thing furthest from Severus' mind but both knew they had their parts to play. Each sat down at Lucius' table eating the delightful meal, each speaking of things of little consequence. Once in awhile Lucius' eyes drifted toward the large ear on the wall, a small satisfied smile gracing his face.

"This is a new recipe that your elves have tried. I don't think I've ever had this particular dish before."

"Yes," he commented pushing his plate away. "I told them unless they wanted to find themselves accepting clothes, they'd start finding something new to feed me."

It was half hearted at best Severus found himself thinking, but whoever may be listening in would be convinced.

"Really Lucius, one of these days you'll give the little buggers a heart attack then who would cook your meals?"

"I'm sure I could find a Mudblood stupid enough to come do the job," he laughed.

"No doubt," Severus said mildly disinterested.

"Would you care of a glass of wine? Perhaps the rest of the bottle we shared earlier?"

"Yes, I'd like that." Severus put down his napkin and pushed back his chair. "After you,"

Once they were far enough away from the ears both men relaxed a little as Lucius led him down corridor after corridor and through door after door, before finally they reached the secret room.

"It gets tiresome talking of inconsequential things day in and day out. The house elves have started talking to me lately thinking that I was actually interested in what they had to say." Lucius groused.

At least some things about Lucius hadn't changed.

"What did our Lord's lackeys want?" Severus asked once they were safe within the walls of the room.

"Simply to ask when I was going to stop mourning my dead wife." He sounded tired.

"What did you tell him?" Severus picked up the book and started reading through.

"Simply that the Malfoy family had a tradition that we mourn our dead spouse for a period no shorter than a year, but hinted that the occasional visit to the local bordello was acceptable." Lucius looked quite queasy at the thought.

"And he bought that?"

"Be fair Severus," Lucius said with a wave of his hand. "This wasn't The Dark Lord himself, but someone that answers to him only."

"I just don't think he'll believe it anyway. I mean when has anyone with the Malfoy name actually entered a brothel? Don't you normally have someone brought to the Manor?"

"Good heavens no, not the Manor! There's a flat in downtown London that serves that purpose. Honestly, I think he'll buy it. I've said something like this before and wasn't questioned. The only thing I have to do is mention that it's been tradition with the Maloy's since before my family could remember."

Severus sniffed. "Playing to his weakness…"

Lucius laughed to himself watching as his friend combed through the old tome. After a few hours, Severus looked up from the book.

"I don't think this book was written entirely by wizards."

Lucius looked over at Severus and asked, "What makes you say that?"

"There are some words in here that don't make sense and there are ingredients to potions littered throughout the text."

Lucius nodded but didn't comment.

Yet another hour later and the book was tossed to the side.

"Don't tell me you've given up already?" Lucius asked laughing.

"Unless I'm missing something important here there's no reason for me to continue reading this tripe." Severus stated.

"Take a deep breath Severus. Do you know how many times I had to read that bloody book before I realized that it was in code?"

"What code?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"Take the Muggle words out and toss them to the side firstly. The second thing I did was take all the ingredients and put them on a list and put them together to get the potion."

"What's the potion for?"

Lucius shook his head. "As far as I can see it's going to need to be imbibed by whoever is trying to call on the Goddess."

"To what end?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't have asked you to get involved, now would I?"

"That and you can't brew a decent swelling solution to save your life."

"Yes well," Lucius cleared his throat, "that too."

If he had the next week to pour over the book with no breaks, he'd feel better about going through with this crazy idea. As it was, there was a common theme to the book that kept popping up every other page. The solstice. She must be called during the solstice, and as he reminded himself, there was a limited amount of them throughout the year and the next one was just over a month away.

And the potion was getting more and more complex as the ingredients were revealed in the text. At this rate he'd be lucky to be able to have it brewed by Christmas time. There were some very rare ingredients indeed, and some he'd be damn lucky to see in his entire career as a potions maker. Who in their right mind thought they could get blood from a phoenix or hair freely given to a man by a harpy.

There was also a whisper in the back of his mind telling him what if this didn't work they way they intended it to? Intelligently, he knew that it would be an incarnation of the Goddess, not the Goddess herself. That meant that there was still the chance that they could lose if they failed, and she was of course human with human fallibility. Of course, nothing in life is ever certain, but he'd feel a bit better if they had some way of knowing the outcome ahead of time.

It wasn't supposed to work out this way the last time, so Severus found himself floundering through life, looking around with wide eyes, and seemingly unable to comprehend everything around him. Dumbledore had been so sure that everything would work out the first time around, and there was a sneaking suspicion that they'd not been told everything.

Just what were they doing out on their own? He was sure Potter wouldn't have gone around Great Britton just for the hell of it, so he had to be out on Dumbledore's orders.

Severus put the book down, his eyes red and irritated.

It would take time to set up the potion. That was the priority as he saw it. Unless Lucius just happened to have these ingredients lying around, there was nothing to do but go after them or find someone to go after them. Severus was sure that he could talk Lucius into doing so. The potion itself didn't take that much time to brew.

They would also need to set up ahead of time the place where they would be calling the Goddess. The book didn't give any specific locations that would work best, so for now, he thought it best to do it here at the manor. A lot of things could go wrong. Yet he reminded himself…. Could it get any worse?

That was a question he found himself asking more and more often. Each time he thought through the question and found as of right now, no it really couldn't.

"How long have you known about this Lucius?"

"I've been working on this ever since the purge started. I found this tomb and started going through it almost as soon as I safely could. I poured over it for about two months before figuring it out."

Severus sat back and blinked. "So you've been holding on to this for close to ten months?"

Lucius nodded. "There are some very rare ingredients that we have to find. Some I've already procured. Others, I've been told they're impossible to get. I was hoping you would either have them or know where to go to get them."

"You'll need to get me the list of ingredients that you have and the ones that we need."

Lucius nodded.

"You do realize that this is no guarantee that it'll work." Severus said quietly.

"What do we have to lose?"

"I've asked myself that same question, found myself asking it over the years. Every time, I could find something that would make me stop. Not this time."

Both men looked at the other; each had the same haunted look upon their visage. What was there to lose indeed?

Severus left Lucius at his manor with a list clutched firmly in his hand. It did surprise him the amount of components that Lucius had procured. Who would have thought phoenix blood was available on the open market? Severus would still want to make sure they were viable ingredients, but it sounded as if Lucius had things well in hand. He had only two more to go and the rest he knew he had in his stores.

It's a shame he couldn't start the potion now. He'd be more than happy to do so in the face of the unknown. Brewing a new potion was something that always brought him a sense of peace, even if it was a short lived one.

As he got closer to the school an errant thought ran across his mind. It would be nice if Hagrid were there. He'd be able to get some of the more difficult things with little effort on his part. The half giant had been missing for the past two years, but there had been murmurs that he was still alive. A missing body didn't necessarily mean anything, but it wasn't damning evidence.

Life still went on, and both men had to keep their respective appearances public lest someone become suspicious. Severus had to make sure that the upcoming year was set to go for the students. Attendance was compulsory as it had been for the last two years, and trying to keep certain "professors" in hand was getting harder and harder without raising uncomfortable questions.

McGonagall was still teaching transfiguration, along with many of the same teachers before The Dark Lords take over. He knew she was ready to retire, but stayed on simply because there were students who would have been in her house had they not been disbanded last year.

It had taken all his wit to keep her on after the down fall, but in the end he'd gotten his way. Every day though, she looked more and more tired. As did many of the staff. It was a reminder that the time had come to at least see what could be done. As he reminded himself earlier – what did they have to lose?

"Severus," McGonagall called over to him as he was on his way up to the headmaster's suite.

"Minerva, what can I do for you?"

"Could you try to control the Carrow's? I found them torturing nifflers with a new curse." She sniffed and looked away.

"I'll see what can be done." Severus looked at her for a moment then his look cleared up his eyes and he smiled. "I'd like for you to come to dinner with me when you've a chance later this week."

"It's been quite some time since someone's asked me out on a date Severus, and I don't think you're my type." She sounded cross.

"It would be a dinner between friends only Minerva."

She sniffed then really looked at him. "If it's an order from the Headmaster then I've no choice do I?"

"I'm afraid you don't this time, as it's rather important. I want to introduce some new classroom guidelines and wanted your thoughts on the matter."

"Very well," She sighed. "Will Friday work?"

He nodded and stalked off. One of the few things that really hacked him off about Dumbledore was – he kept too many secrets. Severus knew he was missing information that was probably vital. Dumbledore in his infinite wisdom didn't see fit to tell some of his closest people what was going on, and it may have been one of the reasons that they couldn't win.

Granted, too many hands in the cauldron was never a good thing – but there was no such thing as too many heads to think with. There were a few people he could and would reach out to that were a part of the Order – the ones who could be trusted of course. He'd be hard pressed to get them to listen, but that's what the full body bind was for.

AN: I'd like to thank everyone who's taken the time to review, mark this story as a favorite or on a watch. It means a lot to us as writers - and they're better than chocolate.

I'd like to point out too - as someone had reviewed - that when Hermione is brought back - she won't be all powerful. I mean realistically, how much fun would that be if she just flicked her finger at Voldemort and that was the end. It doesn't make for a good story I don't think and I never intended for this story to be like that.

Until next time - AbbeysMum.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Building Bridges

Severus and Minerva had a small light dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, where they were currently wrapping up their meal and very difficult discussion. Severus tried his best to keep the conversation light, but Minerva was determined to keep it business. Mentally he shrugged. He wasn't concerned.

Earlier in the day he'd sent one of the house elves with a note with only today's date and a time underneath it. The house elf reappeared moments later with a small nod of its head and then scampered off somewhere else in the castle.

He wasn't sure how Lucius would take the news that someone else was being brought in to this idea of his, but he'd be damned if Lucius had that big of a problem. If there was anything that he'd learned in the past it was to never let history repeat itself, which meant not making the same mistakes. That included keeping a good number of people in the loop, and Minerva would be the one to bring other people into the mix.

As the pair were leaving the pub, Severus lead them to the Apparation point, then while her back was turned put the full body bind on her and took her to Malfoy Manor. It was a dirty thing to do, but desperate times and all that rubbish.

With a careless flick of his wand he levitated the petrified witch beside him and walked into the manor without a knock. Lucius said nothing, but raised his eyebrow at the sight before him, then started walking toward the bowels of the manor.

Once they reached the room that Severus was getting to know quite well, he lowered Minerva to the ground and reluctantly ended the jinx.

Of all the things that he could count on to happen, Minerva wasn't one to disappoint. First she would stare at him with her beady eyes, then she'd start to breathe deeply her nostrils flaring (this was always a sign of deep anger with her) then she'd start yelling.

Severus held his hand in front of him, and started counting off with his fingers. By the time he'd reached three, the tirade had started.

"You may be a servant of your Dark Lord Severus but that does not give you the right to put a hex on me, drag me off to this poofters house for who knows what nefarious reasons."

"Minerva," Severus started.

"Have you no shame whatsoever man? If you wanted to off me all you would have had to do,"

"Minerva," He tried again.

She was pacing back and forth now and Lucius looked on with an amused smile on his face. It was almost as if he was enjoying the situation rather than being hacked off that she was here in the first place.

"First you let all those horrid people over run the school,"

"Minerva McGonagall!" He yelled.

"What, Severus?" She hissed back at him.

"I need you to listen for a little bit of time. If you do not agree – you're free to transfigure me into whatever it is you please with no consequences."

She sat down in one of the chairs, crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the two men.

"Poofter Minerva?" Lucius laughed.

She sniffed at him and went back to shooting daggers at Severus.

"I want you to listen carefully and try not to interrupt. It's rather important. First, we're tired of The Dark Lord. We want to get rid of him."

Instantly her face changed from anger to disbelief to mistrust. "You can't mean that Severus."

"Oh but we do. Why would I have Lucius here if that weren't the case? He's currently not in favor with him."

"Well besides the fact that he has ears everywhere – why should I believe you?"

Lucius held his hand up to Severus as he was getting ready to reply. He sat back and conjured a glass of wine for each of them and uttered one word. "Voldemort."

Lucius watched as Minerva nearly fell out of her chair, and while she showed no physical signs of the fear she must be going through, she held herself in a stiff manor as if awaiting her demise.

Both Lucius and Severus started a conversation on potion ingredients that they were looking for as Minerva waited and waited.

"Well why hasn't he come yet? If I'm meant to die might as well do it soon."

"Oh he won't be coming I assure you Professor." Lucius told her.

"And why not?" She asked him.

"Surprisingly, he can't hear us from here. When my son and wife passed away I came down to the basement of the house and started using magic that had only been rumored of in my family for centuries. It is said that in times of great need the Manor will answer the call of its master and create a room. This is what came of that great need. It's a room that is unplottable, one that is unknown to The Dark Lord, and one that cannot be breached by his spies."

"And just what is that great need?" She asked tartly.

"Minerva," Severus broke in, "we've already told you. We want to off The Dark Lord. We think we've found a way to do it, but we need help."

"Well why not do it and get on with it?"

"Yes Severus, why bring her here? Not that I mind but you had to have a reason behind it all." Lucius asked.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, if he was lucky he'd not have a headache by the end of it all.

"Simple really. Dumbledore held all his cards too close, never let anyone in on everything. I think that it would be a fatal flaw to do so now. I'm not saying it was the reason that we lost – but it was probably a contributing factor. I'd like to let Minerva in so she can rally as much as the Order as she can. We're going to need a lot of help if we want to get this done quickly."

Lucius was about to argue but stopped himself. They both knew the more people they had the greater there was a chance of getting everything accomplished. It also brought the chance that the wrong person would be brought in. Severus was hoping they could circumvent that problem straight away by Minerva bringing in only those trusted the most by Dumbledore.

"What specifically do you two have planned? I'd want to know before I commit. And if you think for one moment Severus Snape that I'll accept a memory charm, you've got another thing coming to you." She wagged her finger at him.

"I wouldn't dream of a memory charm Minerva. To answer your question we can do this two ways. You can read a rather lengthy book that will make you want to go round in circles for a few days or I can give you the shortened version with all the answers now."

"I'd rather do both if you please. The short version first to see if I should strangle you both for this hacked up job, and if it's not so bad then I'll take the long version."

Severus explained in great detail how the idea started and where they were in the planning stages. He went over the book itself, where the potion was found and the actual ceremony behind calling for the Goddess' help.

"What kind of potion ingredients were you needing Severus?"

Severus handed her a copy of the list needed and she nodded. "I take it all those checked aren't ones we need to worry about?"

"I'd like to have more of them if at all possible; you never know when something could botch the potion itself."

She nodded to herself. "And where will the ritual be done?"

Severus looked over at Lucius for a second then back to Minerva. "I'd like to do it here in this room. This will allow us to have as few people in the wrong places know what we're up to."

"And just where are you going to hide the embodiment of a goddess if you've gone ahead and succeeded? She can't hide here forever."

Both men nodded but it wasn't convincing. She knew then and there that she'd help them, if only to help with the poor lass that would be forced to embody someone to save the world. It wasn't fair to expect that of one single person, yet here they were.

"I'll gather up some of the Order as you asked. How many were you thinking Severus?"

"As many as you can trust implicitly." He answered.

"And what exactly am I to tell them? Some of this plan or all of it?" She shot back.

Lucius answered for him. "Tell them everything as long as you trust them. I want The Dark Lord dead by the end of the year. Rebuilding should be started by the New Year. It's ambitious, but I think the Order will be completely capable."

"What makes you say that Lucius?" Severus asked him.

"You wouldn't know this now, but when I was in favor all those years ago, dealing with the Order was my main role for him. There were months at a time that you lot had me guessing whether I was coming or going."

Severus laughed. "High praise indeed from," he looked at Minerva and smirked, "ah yes – a poofter."

"Play nicely boys. I'm still not convinced I shouldn't transfigure you two into cat nip." She stood up and looked at Severus. "I'm proud of you, both of you."

"How many people can we expect you to reach Minerva?" Severus asked.

"Oh a good ten people I should think." She looked pleased with herself.

"I didn't think we had that many left," Severus whispered. "Who?"

"Molly and Arthur, Hagrid, Charlie, Bill, Shaklebolt, Lupin and Tonks, and Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood."

Severus shook his head. "I saw Neville Longbottom die with my own eyes."

"You weren't the only spy we had in his ranks you know. You didn't see what you thought you saw. Only what we wanted you to see." She looked smug, changed herself into her animagus form and waited by the door to be let out.

"I wonder who…" Lucius started.

"I don't know." It was the only answer he could come up with.

AN: Thank you to all who take the time to review, or mark this as a favourite or follow it. It makes me squee every single time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Horcruxes Revealed

The phoenix blood was tainted. Though he couldn't say for sure what was mixed in with the phoenix blood, he was sure it was a non-magical animal. It compromised the integrity, and Severus wouldn't take the gamble that it might work.

So that left him one less ingredient to find, and it was a rare one indeed. That left him in the situation he was now.

It was risky. Then again, what had they gotten into lately that wouldn't be considered dangerous.

Severus was sitting in the Headmasters office, his hands splayed on the desk in front of him, thinking. Ever so often, one of the portraits would say something and of course he would ignore it. Even Hogwarts wasn't safe from those damned listening ears, and it was hard speaking to the portraits. You could use code, but after awhile there were times when he just wanted to speak without really having to think about what was being said next.

That's why Lucius' room was so convenient. They didn't have to worry about what was being said.

He was getting nothing done waiting here, and he picked up the letter he'd penned nearly two hours previously. There was no way around it from his vantage point. After all, The Dark Lord was good for something's, and getting what he wanted was one of them. If he said he needed phoenix blood for healing potions, even if it were a rare and controlled substance, The Dark Lord ended up getting his way.

The hard part was convincing him that the blood would be required. Certainly, he'd had some students sustain nerve damage last year because of one too many cruciatus curses, and phoenix blood is a restorative. That was what the letter was asking for. If too many children sustained that much damage while on the school's property, they'd have fewer and fewer children attend. The law stated that attendance was compulsory but that wouldn't stop parents or guardians from making up some sort of ailment to make the child stay home.

It had been happening more often with some of the children. At first he'd been tempted to hire a healer from St. Mungo's to confirm the diagnosis, but decided at the last minute that it just wasn't worth it. This year there were about twenty percent of the students not attending this year, and if the numbers kept going the way they were next year they'd be down another fifteen percent.

Student attendance notwithstanding there was other worries that had to come first. He left the confines of his office and started moving toward the owlery. The people in the portraits were moving back and forth, some were having tea, and others were watching the Headmaster closely.

After the letter was sent and he was on his way back to his office, a house elf appeared and looked at him pleading.

Severus said nothing the creature (an ear on the wall was just around the corner here) and the creature motioned for him to follow. It was undoubtedly the strangest thing to him, house elves were known to be frightened easily, but this one had a confidence about it.

At its own pace Severus was lead to a door that he'd not seen in the school before, and the elf lead him through the door.

He was surprised to see a well operated office space here. There were several desks to one side, papers were being shuffled here and there, and there were at least three elves here moving quickly through the crowd.

Once his attention was diverted away from the elves, he took a good look at who was here, and found himself pleasantly surprised. There were some people here that he'd honestly thought were dead. As Minerva had said, Neville Longbottom was here, he was missing his left arm. Luna Lovegood was close behind him and it looked like they were in a serious discussion bent over a piece of parchment.

Behind him the door closed and a good twenty people looked up at him and went still. Minerva was the first to move forward to him.

"Severus," she said to him. "So nice of you to join us."

He raised his eyebrow and chuckled.

"As if you'd let me get away from all of this." He said with a sweep of his hand.

"Of course not," she said. "This is my campaign here, which means I'm in charge. You old bat."

"Yes well, better a bat than," he started but was cuffed on his ear.

"Do you really want to finish that sentence Severus?"

He rubbed his ear gently and glared at the woman. "No," he said reluctantly.

Everyone else in the room seemed to breathe a little deeper and calmed down.

"I take it this room is secured?" Severus asked her.

She nodded. "It's very much like Malfoy's room, but our room isn't able to have food delivered like his. We've been having a hard time getting a good amount of food for everyone here. I want you to do something about that. The elves in the kitchens give what they can, but they're limited unless you give the order."

"Whatever you need," he told her.

"Professor Snape," Neville came forward and offered his hand.

Severus, never thought he'd be in this situation before, but shook his hand nonetheless.

"I'm sorry to say that I ordered the blood to be tainted. I've rectified that," Neville started but was interrupted by Severus.

"Just how do you plan on intercepting the owl that I sent to The Dark Lord asking for help in obtaining said blood?" His voice was low.

Neville simply waived his hand. "No owl leaves Hogwarts grounds without us knowing about it first. Your letter was stopped."

Lovegood stepped forward and handed him the letter he'd written not two hours before, and without another word to the group went back to the desk she was standing at.

He glared at Minerva for a moment. "Just how exactly are things run right under my nose that I don't know about? Why don't you tell me how you run this and then we can work together seamlessly."

She laughed and started the tour of the room. There were apparently rooms just like this one popping up all around the country. The Dark Lord may have thought he had things well under control, and on the surface he did, but if you knew where to look there were cogs missing here and there. Some of them didn't look like they were that important, while others looked as if they were still there, but they weren't doing what they should be doing all the time.

Each person here had their own function, and they did it well. Longbottom and Lovegood were in charge of reading every piece of mail going in or out of Hogwarts and making sure that if anything needed to be intercepted, it was done quickly, so the mail wasn't missed for too long.

They still had an inside person that was reporting back to them, giving reports on who was doing what inside The Dark Lord's inner circle. That was how they found out about Lucius going after certain ingredients, and how they were able to taint it.

There were a lot of unhappy people inside the community, and they were slowly coming forward one by one to help in some way. That wasn't to say that The Order let every person in. You started at the bottom, and they were given seemingly small jobs. So far no one seemed to be a fraud.

Those who were left in The Order didn't feel as if Snape would be as trustworthy as he claimed, even if Dumbledore's portrait had told them Severus killed Dumbledore on his orders.

"I take it everyone has been told what our plan is?" Severus asked Minerva once they'd gone through nearly everything.

"Yes, and we have some information for you as well." She told him.

Minerva looked over at Luna, and he watched as the blond woman stepped forward.

"We know that Dumbledore left orders for Harry to do something, though we weren't sure what it was until we searched Harry and Hermione's belongings after they'd died."

"What do you mean searched their belongings? The Dark Lord went through everything that was left with them and there was nothing found. I even went through every last thing to make sure there were no hidden charms on anything. We found a lot of books that had nothing to do with anything, and clothes of course, but not much else."

Luna simply smiled and nodded. "Yes, we were aware of that, but do you really think Hermione Granger would let any information that could be damning fall into the wrong hands?" It was a rhetorical question.

"Apparently she charmed what belongings she deemed to have vital information to come back to Minerva here," Luna said pointing to the professor. "And it's a good thing too. What they were going after – I shudder to think what You Know Who would have done had he known."

He waited a few moments for her to continue. "Well out with it!"

"Have you ever heard of a horcrux before Professor Snape?"

His eyes went wide and he stepped back.

"By your expression I see you have. Hermione very thoughtfully left a diary of sorts, some of which we've been able translate – for the most part – but she seems to have put it in code. Smart of her, really, but not very helpful when it's this slow going."

"What more did she leave behind?"

Minerva answered for her. "Hermione said there were at least seven of them, and she had the inkling that Harry Potter may have been an extra one that he hadn't accounted for."

"Professor, do you by any chance know how to destroy them? None of the books she left gave any clue and the diary doesn't give us any indication."

He shook his head. "Any information would have been destroyed by the purge and I've only come across the term in passing."

All of them nodded disappointed. "I think though maybe fiendfyre may be an answer. It's not the way I'd like to destroy them, but it's an option."

"I'd thought of that too," Minerva mentioned. "I'm hesitant to use it though. It's hard to control."

"Did Miss Granger by any chance leave any information on where to find them or what we're looking for?"

Minerva shook her head. "We've a good idea of what to look for but nothing tangible."

He paced back and forth looking everywhere but at the people around him. How much trouble were these blasted horcruxes going to give them? Even if they managed killed The Dark Lord, having any of the horcruxes out there meant that they were unable to be certain that he was good and dead.

"Do we have a hard and fast number how many are left?"

Luna shook her head. "No, but we have one of them. They'd at least found a locket that looks like it may have belonged to Salazar Slytherin. I think Delores Umbridge had it at one point."

"We need to find a way to destroy them then. I don't know what to do first – go after them or call the Goddess."

Severus was still pacing back and forth. The more he thought about it the more insurmountable this all seemed.

"It's starting to hit you, isn't it?" Luna asked.

Severus blinked. "I'm sorry what's starting to hit me?"

"How much we need to do. I often find myself wondering what Harry, Ron and Hermione were feeling when they were out on the run. They had to find the horcruxes that hadn't been destroyed yet and they had no idea where to look either."

"Horcruxes that hadn't been… You mean there were horcruxes already taken care of?"

Luna nodded. "As far as we can tell Tom Riddle's diary was destroyed, a ring, which means we have three left to find."

Severus stopped once the diary was mentioned. Dumbledore had mentioned ages ago that Harry had stabbed it with a basilisk fang when he'd asked what the large hole in the book was for, and of course Dumbledore wouldn't elaborate beyond that.

Severus Snape very rarely smiled. When he did, people often said he looked like he was insane, and this was one of those moments.

"I have enough venom to kill those bloody things, no worries about that. The only thing we need to worry about is finding them and deciding do we wait to call the Goddess or do them both at the same time."

"I think it may be beneficial to do both at the same time. We have people out in the field that are trustworthy enough to look for the objects; you can concentrate on the Goddess." Neville told him.

A/N: Again a thank you to all those who have marked this as a favourite, added it to the list you're following or reviewed. It gives me the warm and fuzzies!

So if you'd like tell me what you think so far...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Two Down and One to Go

"You mean those Order people are still around?" Lucius asked as Severus was getting all the potion ingredients together.

As promised, all ingredients had been delivered, and a lot faster than he'd expected. It had taken a week for Longbottom to get them all, and as asked, he'd obtained double what the potion called for. Not that Severus expected the potion to go wrong, but he was meticulous and that meant having extra on hand in case anything went wrong.

"Yes, I was just as surprised." Severus was yet again going through the list.

Something was bothering him about the text. He'd gone though and rewritten everything so it was all in one place. The information on how to perform the ritual, how to call the Goddess, and the potion, but as Lucius had pointed out there were extra words that didn't seem to fit anywhere. Lucius would have dismissed those words as just extras thrown in for the hell of it. Severus said there was no such thing as superfluous anything.

It wasn't as if everything had a purpose, but in a text there had to be a reason the words were there.

"Well there's at least that. Are they just hiding underground or is there something more perhaps?" Lucius asked.

"They're working on trying to find the Horcruxes that The Dark Lord created." He said nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry Severus," Lucius choked a little. "I don't think I heard you correctly."

"You did hear me correctly. Horcruxes Lucius. Seven of them to be precise. Potter and Dumbledore were able to destroy two of them and Harry Potter was another one. They're currently looking for the rest of them." Severus said still pouring over the book.

"What do you mean seven of them? Who in their right mind…" He didn't finish that thought.

There was no way Voldemort was in his right mind. Whether he was born that way, or environment had caused him to be the way he was, Severus was sure the debates would go on for centuries. In the end though it didn't really matter, he was insane.

Lucius sat there for a moment, thinking. "Did the Order tell you what they're going to be looking for perchance?"

"That's the hard part. They have an idea of what to look for, but nothing solid."

"What items did Potter and Dumbledore already get?" Lucius asked him.

Severus pursed his lips shut the book and pushed it to the side. He'd think on the extra verbiage in the book later.

"Potter was able to destroy a diary of The Dark Lord's and there was a ring."

Lucius stared at him. "What kind of diary did you say it was?"

"It was a non-descript diary as far as I could tell. It did have The Dark Lord's name on it."

Lucius sat back thinking hard with an odd expression on his face.

"You may want to check with the others in the circle if The Dark Lord has given them any items for safe keeping. If that was a Horcrux then I'm sure he gave someone else the others…"

Severus stood up and walked over to Lucius. "What are you talking about?"

With a far off look in his eyes Lucius answered him. "I had possession of that diary all those years ago and planted it within Hogwarts not knowing what it was. The Dark Lord had told me that if he should disappear and there were rumors of his death that I should find someone weak and give them the diary." Lucius swallowed then looked at Severus. "What else have they found?"

"Dumbledore destroyed a ring from The Dark Lords family and there's a locket from what they think is Salazar Slytherin himself that they are going to be getting rid of today."

Lucius waved his hand in the air and there appeared a rather large tumbler of an amber liquid.

"It's a bit early for drinking don't you think Lucius?"

With a shake of his head he answered. "Not if we're celebrating my friend."

"I haven't the patience for riddles today." In front of Severus a duplicate tumbler appeared.

"I know where two of the other Horcruxes are Severus."

Severus at this point didn't want to wait much longer. "Well?" He bellowed.

"There is a cup that The Dark Lord had given Bella to hang on to in her vault, but the one in Hogwarts might be easier to get to now."

"I'm sorry you said there's one at Hogwarts?"

Lucius nodded with a twisted smile. "Three years ago Draco had written home giving me details on how his mission was going for The Dark Lord. In one of those letters Draco mentioned finding and taking a Diadem home with him that he was certain belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. He grew up listening to the old legends you know. His Mother was rather fond of that one.

"I remember in one letter he'd said he'd tried it on, but thought the old magic had either stopped working, or something more sinister was afoot with the item. He'd heard voices whisper to him that he would of course fail. Draco ended up bringing it home with him when he sent his trunk home the night of the raid on Hogwarts. It's in his trunk still. I'll be more than happy to fetch it for you so you can destroy it."

Severus nodded and finished up his Firewhisky. "That would be helpful. In the mean time, we only have to find out a way to get inside Bella's vault. That should be just as easy as making a potion for boils." He snorted to himself.

Lucius cleared his throat. "Actually, as Bella's only living relative – everything in her vault was handed over to me. I can of course retrieve the item, but it would be advantageous to know what I'm looking for."

"No idea's then?" Severus asked.

"None that I can think of, I have some books in my library in the main house about the founders of Hogwarts. Perhaps there's something there."

Severus nodded. The afternoon melted away and Severus found himself back at Hogwarts preparing to melt the Diadem given to him by Lucius. The locket had met a similar fate earlier that day. Longbottom had warned him of the unpleasant side effect of watching a piece of The Dark Lords soul die, and advised him to be careful.

Longbottom had mentioned that they were on red alert for most of the afternoon in case The Dark Lord had felt the loss of his soul. As it was, the afternoon was quiet at Hogwarts. It was something that they were for once were thankful for.

Minerva had requested to join him for the ceremonial destruction and he was thankful for the company. Minerva was one of those people who could sit with you for hours, talking about nothing but still have that comforting presence. He often took advantage of that before the fall, and often he found he missed her company. Of course, he'd never tell her that, but if he were hard pressed, he was sure she knew.

It was one of the last quiet weeks at Hogwarts until the end of term. For some reason, most children went home for the holiday. Term was set to start in less than a week. All the staff was ready, and Pomfrey requested more and stronger healing potions weeks ago. He'd requested Slughorn brew some, but Severus was quite familiar with his standards. It wasn't that he was a bad potions master – but Severus was quite sure his way was better.

There were only a few potions left brewing, and they would be ready the day the students would arrive. Just in time for the Hogwarts express and any mishaps that would inevitably happen on there.

He could just hear Minerva's footsteps coming down the stone hallway and he found himself smiling again. That was twice in the past day, and he quickly found himself thinking unhappy thoughts to stop himself.

She came around the corner and held a piece of parchment in her hand and slid it to him.

"I see you're still brewing this year's required potions. Any wager on when they'll be required? Pomona thinks it'll be on the train. I think it'll probably be at the feast."

She nodded to the paper then the ear in his room.

"Yes, I'm nearly done. They only require sitting here for the next few days and they'll be done."

He read through the note. It was short, and as Minerva was known to be, to the point. "We think we've found a way around the ears. We'll be testing tomorrow, and let you know."

Severus was impressed; there were many wizards who would love to be able to do that, and a fair few of them had failed. Severus had seen many names come across the pages of The Daily Prophet for just that offence.

He looked up and nodded at Minerva.

Earlier in the day he'd thought about how he was going destroy the Horcrux. He wasn't sure that it would make a lot of noise, as it realistically wasn't a corporeal being inside. Minerva had confirmed his thoughts so he brought it to his old classroom to do it.

"As for injuries, I'm with Pomona, if anything happens it'll be on the train. Call me cynical." He answered her. "But I'm never one to make a galleon or two. Sign me up, and if you need to know whether it'll be the early or the late half of the ride, let me know."

It was a conversation that both of them knew would be expected of them, but one that neither would want to have. Who would want to see children get hurt, and even worse, who would want to make bets on it.

"I don't think so, I think it's only you and Pomona so far that's said it would happen on the train." She made a disgusted face.

Severus reached for a pair of tongues with one hand and grasped the lid to the cauldron with the other. His plan, which admittedly was a far cry from brilliant, was to toss the bloody thing in and shut the lid with magic and hide if necessary. The basilisk venom was in the cauldron, and with a quick flick of the tongues and a clang of the lid the Horcrux was in the cauldron.

He fully expected that the cauldron would explode, and it did. What he wasn't expecting was the sick mess after the explosion.

It started off as a slow rumble, the lid to the cauldron clanging against the lip in a slow tempo at first then building ever faster every minute or so. It happened quickly after that, the cauldron exploded, shards of metal flew across the room, and blobs of venom and another substance that he couldn't identify hit nearly every surface.

As soon as he was sure the explosion was over with, he peaked over the edge of the table and quickly cleared up the mess leaving the hunk of smoldering metal on the tabletop.

"That," he breathed "is what happens when you get less than satisfactory ingredients. It's the last time I buy from that particular apothecary."

"Indeed," Minerva agreed and smiled.

It was most unfortunate that the noise attracted Alecto Carrow. He came running down the hall and stopped at the door of the lab.

"What the bleedin' hell happened?" He asked stupidly.

Severus sighed and held up a bottle of red liquid. "Bad dragon's blood I'm afraid. It's been mixed with something else as far as I can tell."

"Damn potions," he muttered and walked off.

One of these days he'd make that bastard pay dearly for everything he'd done while here at Hogwarts. He didn't think the Ministry would really care too much about a missing Death Eater. They'd have too much else to worry about. And Severus would make sure he was returned. Eventually.

It took him a moment to realize that for the first time in years, he'd felt something very close to hope. It felt like they were doing something to get rid of the tyrant, which was more than he could say for when Dumbledore ran the whole lot of them. This time it actually felt like they had the chance to win. Last time it felt like empty promises from Dumbledore.

Or was it that with more knowledge they could better prepare themselves for what was to come? One way or the other, he was happy with the situation. It was getting better slowly, but that was a vast improvement over where they were two months ago.

As of now, they had just over three weeks to prepare for the next solstice. He only hoped that the ritual would work and that would fall into place just as everything else had.

A/N: Again a big thanks to all who are following this. I can't tell you what it means that there are as many as there are following it. If you'd like to leave a review - those are always welcomed too. Thanks for reading and see you next time later this week.


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